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Frank Ryan
Frank Peter "Dunie" Ryan (June 10, 1942- November 13, 1984) was a notorious Canadian mobster and the first known boss of Canada's Irish mob known as the West End Gang. Biography Ryan's father abandoned their family when he was three years old, leaving his mother to raise him by herself. Ryan dropped out of school in his mid-teens and led his own teenage gang who participated in "petty" crimes such as smash and grabs, garment thefts from trucks and breaking and entering. Ryan continued his crime spree throughout the early 1960s, ending with an armed robbery conviction in 1966 for which he served 6 years of a 15 year sentence in an American prison. After his parole Ryan joined a new gang to help him continue his criminal enterprises, which now included loansharking as well as robberies. It was while at the helm of this gang that Ryan started to import and distribute drugs in the Montreal area. The "King of Montreal" After his initial forays in the drug market Ryan realized that this was a market that could be expanded and soon he had built a drug network that spread throughout Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. Ryan felt he was the "King" of Montreal and thumbed his nose at other criminal organizations in Montreal including the Hells Angels and Cotroni/Rizzuto crime family. Ryan was definitely on the top of the criminal food chain in Québec as both of these criminal organizations depended on his steady supply of drugs. When one of Ryan's alleged gang members "burned" him, Ryan contacted the Hells Angels North chapter for assistance. The North Chapter was one of Ryan's best customers for both personal use and resale of Ryan's drugs. Hells Angels member Yves "Apache" Trudeau was dispatched to take care of business for Ryan. Trudeau planted a bomb in the ex-West-End gang member's car and successfully fulfilled his contract when the bomb killed Hughie McGurnaghan. Ryan's dealings with the Hells Angels almost proved to be his downfall however. Two Hells Angels associates planned to kidnap Ryan's children to get Ryan to reveal where he buried his vast fortune (as Ryan didn't believe in banks) but the plan was foiled by informants and the Angel associates involved were killed, allegedly by Trudeau as well. Downfall Ryan's downfall came on November 13, 1984. Ryan was at his Nittolo's Garden Motel office – when Paul April, another reputed West End Gang member, let Ryan know that he had a woman in one of the motel's rooms waiting to service him. With his guard down, Ryan entered the room to find April, Robert Lelievre (a small time Montreal hood) and possibly two others brandishing guns and attempted to restrain Ryan with tape. They likely planned to find out where he kept his millions and then murder him. Ryan fought back and was killed by a shotgun blast before he was fully restrained. The remaining loyal members of the West End Gang learned who was responsible for Ryan's death after getting reports back from the street that April was bragging that he had killed the king and that he was now the king. Allan "The Weasel" Ross, who inherited all of Ryan's business, allegedly pulled Hells Angels hitmen Yves "Apache" Trudeau into service again along with Michel Blass to execute those responsible. Ross promised to pay them $200,000 in cash and forgive their sizable drug debt. On November 25, only 12 days after Dunie Ryan was killed, the two hitmen delivered a television, VCR and a copy of "Hells Angels Forever" to the apartment where April and Lelievre were working out of. April, Lelievre and two associates were killed a few minutes later when the bomb exploded. Eight others were injured in the explosion that nearly destroyed the apartment block. At the time of his death, Dunie Ryan, according to police documents, was believed to be worth between $50–100 millio. Dunie had once told a girlfriend he planned to "live fast, love hard, and die young". In the end, he did just that. Category:Founders Category:Bosses Category:West End Gang Category:Murdered Mobsters Category:Canadian Mobsters Category:Irish Gangsters